The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
4,329 films were submitted to the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. This blog had 17,000 views in 2012. If each view were a film, this blog would power 4 Film Festivals
Click here to see the complete report.
Have you been to see JonathanHillOnline.com Yet? It’s the new home of the Hill House blog. I’ll be slowly moving all of these posts over to my new online presence. I’ve also been busy posting new articles, book reviews, etc. You can check out some of them below…
Be Sure and sign-up to receive email updates of New Blog posts over at JonathanHillOnline.com
I’m switching my main blog address to http://www.JonathanHillOnline.com. I’ll still be posting here on a sporadic basis. However, for regular and fresh content on family, ministry, and the Christian life go to http://www.JonathanHillOnline.com and subscribe via the RSS feed or by e-mail. I look forward to seeing your comments there!
I read As One Devil to Another
As One Devil to Another is well written for it’s genre and reads faster than one might suspect for a book full of “letters.” There are a few points where the author seems to press his view a bit more than the writing style intends to hold, but for the most part the insight into the human heart is spot on and even creepy.
I really liked this book and highly recommend it to anyone who is a fan of C. S. Lewis’ The Screw Tape Letters. As One Devil to Another is also a great read for pastors, teachers, etc. who are looking for a reminder or need a refresher on just how easily we are deceived. I give it 5 Stars.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a copy of this book free from Tyndale House Publishers as part of their Tyndale Blog Network. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Today I am reflecting on the years I have spent in ministry and counting it a blessing to be considered a friend to so many. I’m celebrating four years serving in my current ministry context and nearly fifteen years in ministry all together (counting the near eleven years I spent with my first church). Recently I was listening to a Tim Keller Podcast in which he made a statement that pastors have a unique privilege and responsibility to be a friend to those to whom they minister and as such they often make friends with people who given ordinary circumstances they would never be friends with…
I find this to be true in my own life. I have the awesome opportunity to walk with people of all walks of life through some of life’s most painful and sacred moments.
There have been moments when we were all scared or saddened by life’s events. I have been in the room when we got the news of cancer. I’ve done my share of funerals and hugged the necks and held the hands of the grieving. More than enough times I’ve been called up late to the hospital when their has been an accident. Too often I’ve held a broken infants in my hands. I’ve seen the tragedies of life and walked with families through the worst parts. I have been one of the few who were ever welcomed into the world of the hurting and I have found that you don’t walk through the valley without developing some kind of kinship.
There have also been moments of joy beyond expression. I’ve held hands and plunged you beneath the water and pulled you back to the surface in baptism based upon your confession of Christ. I’ve been in the room when they said the cancer is in remission. I’ve held healthy newborns and helped sneak an air-horn into graduation ceremonies. I generally get the best seat in the house when it comes to weddings and among other things I get to say, “you may now kiss the bride.” I’ve shared in some of the happiest moments that life has to offer and found that you don’t reach the summit of the mountain without developing a friendship along the way.
Beyond sharing these moments with you I have prayed with you and for you. I have poured myself out and asked God to allow me to pour some more. To this end I spent years of my life studying His word so that I might be a competent expositor, leader, administrator, communicator, teacher, counselor and ultimately a better friend. I have begged God that I would clearly speak the truth even when you might not count me as a friend because of it. Because my greatest desire for you is to present you complete to Christ.
I’d be a fool to think that friendship is a one-way street. Through the years as you have made me a part of your family and welcomed me into your homes. I have been blessed beyond measure by your friendship. I have learned valuable lessons. I have eaten vegetables from your garden, dear meat from your freezer and mullet from your cast net. Along the way I confided some of my own fears and insecurities. You have loved me, been to my wedding, held my children, and hugged me and celebrated my birthdays (though sometimes I would like it to pass in obscurity) and anniversaries. Thank you for being a faithful friend to me and counting this pastor as your friend.
I picked this book up late one evening to read thinking that I’d read it during the evenings all week this week and ended up reading it before work the next day. I just couldn’t put it down. Crazy Dangerous
The main character Sam lives a believable, yet fast paced adventure. He’s a likable guy who just wants to be liked and be part of a group… any group. He makes some pretty dumb decisions along that end up costing him. Mysteriously in the mix of all the action he picks up the motto, “Do right, fear nothing” off a small statue in his Father’s office and presses on with the motto to get himself and others out of some pretty tight jams. A little bit of heroism and virtue go a long way in helping him to protect a friend and save his town from destruction.
I enthusiastically recommend this book to anyone interested in reading a well written, well told adventure story. It is about the best I have ever read in Christian Fiction. You can score a copy at Amazon.com for a little more than ten bucks. I give it Five Stars.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson as part of the BookSneeze program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
We love reading this Storybook Bible to the kids. Here is another animated story from The Jesus Storybook Bible
Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
